The COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated extensive discussions on the necessary reforms to better prevent, detect, and respond to future pandemics. In The Lancet Public Health, Johnathan Duff and colleagues1 add a useful conceptual framework to these discussions. The authors recognise the importance of WHO and of the International Health Regulations (IHR), noting that the IHR are essentially non-binding and non-enforceable while the WHO is underfunded. They provide ten recommendations to strengthen global health security, some of which affirm current practices, whereas others propose potentially new institutions. The authors acknowledge the practical challenges of governing global health and propose a so-called invested alliance as a first step.